The Eighth offers perhaps the most fully-realised expression of Bruckner's vision, and when one is fortunate enough to experience a performance as great as the one given by Andris Nelsons and the Berlin Philharmonic, it is impossible to emerge from the concert hall unmoved

If the passing of Rihm gave the first part of the evening a sombre cast, the performance of IN-SCHRIFT led by Kirill Petrenko served as a fitting tribute to an extraordinary career

Although the programme promised a fairly traditional overture-concerto-symphony structure, the choice of pieces – which included Szymanowski’s first Violin Concerto and Strauss’ Symphonia domestica – and the quality of the performances yielded a concert that balanced obvious thrills with subtler pleasures.

Ha llegado el momento de dejar de lamentarse del rechazo del público hacia la música actual y del conservadurismo de las programaciones.Cierto es que los periodistas y críticos musicales que propagan tales lamentaciones rara vez asisten a los conciertos de las bandas y orquestas gallegas.

If the Symphony No.7 finale was unreservedly triumphant in tone, it was the emotional ambiguities of the earlier movements – and of Mr Widmann’s songs – that made the evening so captivating